Kaspersky Lab has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Smart Africa Alliance, which will see the two parties working together to drive improvement of protection of networks and critical systems, as well as raise cybersecurity awareness across the continent.

Smart Africa works with the private and public sector, to focus on broadband access and ICT across the continent.

Increased access also means increased threats, and so to be successful this requires heightened levels of security education and awareness, the organisation has stated.

In a release issued to the media, Smart Africa says the MoU was signed on 27 October at the Kaspersky Lab headquarters in Moscow between Eugene Kaspersky, Chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Executive Director of Smart Africa.

Under the terms of the memorandum, Kaspersky Lab will ensure the provision of expertise in the area of cyberthreats to the Alliance. In addition, the parties agreed to exchange data relating to cyberthreats on the continent.

Dr. Touré, who is also the former secretary general of the UN's International Telecommunication Union, said; "As we move Africa to becoming an information and knowledge-driven society, it becomes absolutely necessary to cooperate with major cybersecurity organisations, such as Kaspersky Lab, to ensure that rapidly growing digital infrastructure is safe and secure. In the digital age, network security and integrity of information are becoming extremely important, as does the confidentiality of personal data. This makes cybersecurity a top priority for Smart Africa. We are very pleased with our cooperation with Kaspersky Lab."

Eugene Kaspersky said, "We are pleased to launch this cooperation with Smart Africa as this alliance is doing a very important job in the region. Building a strong IT base and developing capabilities and skills means creating a strong base for sustainable economic development. But smart digital technologies bring many new risks and threats, and it's very important to make cybersecurity an integral part of the development process."